False lashes are a bit like an ex-boyfriend – they’re super annoying and just seem to stick around for way too long. Okay, so they have some merit. They do give instant glamour but when you catch sight of yourself in the taxi wing mirror with half a lash on stuck to your cheek (apart from cringing at how long it might have been there) they just don’t seem worth it. Plus, they’re probably the fiddliest thing we’ve ever come across, probably harder than threading the world’s smallest needle while wearing gloves (we imagine).

But what’s the alternative? A tonne of mascara that leaves you looking like a Marilyn Manson wanabee? Oh contraire. NARS UK Make-Up Artist Ambassador, Andrew Gallimore has a killer set of techniques, which, before you ask, are wholly faff free. All you need is a humble mascara.

Wands at the ready? Let’s get waving…

Step 1: Pile. It. On.

Generally, what I like to do is to pile it on. So I put on up to five coats of mascara. I really tease the lashes by wiggling the brush so you get them into little groups of hairs (minus clumps).

Step 2: Let it dry

Alternate between applying mascara to top and bottom lashes. I’ll do a layer on the top and then a layer on the bottom of one eye, and then the same on the other. Just that beat in between coats is enough to let it set. Otherwise you’re just moving around the wet mascara you’ve already got on there.

Step 3: Brush up

Next, put some of the mascara onto the back of your hand. Then I’ll get a dense, square eye shadow brush and pick up some of the product and almost just wipe it on the very roots of the lashes. That gets them really thick at the base.

Step 4: Cottoned on yet?

Then I’ll get one of the small, really fine cotton buds and soak it in some oil-free make-up remover. I literally just stroke it through side-to-side and almost melt the mascara back on itself and kind of mould the lashes. So you’ve got a lot of product at the roots, but the rest of length of the lash and the tip is nice and sharp, tapered, and graphic even though there’s loads of product there. This is the trick to building up product without the lumps and bumps and clumps.

Step 5: Seal it in

I will generally use two mascaras for this look. A volumising formula first, and then a thinner formula. Waterproof formulas tend to be thinner in consistency. So use your second more fluid, inky mascara just as a final coat, encapsulating everything.